The Great American Road Trip: Day 77 - The People You Meet Along the Way

To Brooklyn at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Walking Tours in Boston, Massachusetts
Distance - 230 miles
Time - 7 hours

On Monday morning I said goodbye to Kathryn before she headed off to work, and of course I forgot to take a picture with her! I clearly should just take one the moment I arrive at someone's house because otherwise this happens :p So to Kathryn, David, and Mary - thanks for hosting me! You're all sweet and lovely people, and next time I will provide photographic evidence of your generosity to the blog-readers of the world ;)

I said goodbye to David around 10 and tried to figure out my route while I stopped for gas and coffee. I saw that I could avoid the toll roads by going down I-95. It goes right through Providence, so I thought - why not stop for lunch? As I drove I started feeling a little reluctant to stop, kind of warring with myself - should I go to the effort of getting off the highway to find a place for coffee or lunch? I anticipated that NYC traffic was sure to be a hassle and a half, perhaps it would be better to just drive straight through? I was decidedly having a "wow, I'm tired of traveling" moment, which happens from time to time.

And then there are other happy moments that make the travel stress completely worth it, those almost cliche, quintessential "road trip" human connection moments - what perfect timing! I got off the highway and drove into Providence, but hadn't really done research as to where I might want to wander or check out the cafes. I was driving a little aimlessly through the downtown financial district, with lots of expensive restaurants that were closed until dinner - not really looking promising. So I pulled over, looked at the Wikipedia entry about the different neighborhoods, and decided to check the coffee shops in Federal Hill, specifically Little Italy. Urbanspoon recommended a particular cafe so I headed over to that part of town, but when I got there and parked I found that it was closed! Despite my ridiculous reliance on technology up to this point, I was still without coffee :(

Undeterred, I went low-tech and started walking. I passed a few restaurants but none caught my eye so I kept going. I walked up Atwells Avenue, (with its red-white-green center stripe) until I figured I better hurry and chose something or just get back in the car. Then I saw Antonio's Cafe across the street - it didn't look like anything fancy, but for a cup of coffee and a place to write some postcards? Perfect. There was a group of older men outside, slightly intimidating but they seemed friendly when I approached and passed them to go inside. I ordered my coffee and sat down. Two older men sat at a table nearby, speaking in Italian, occasionally mixing with English when ordering their espressos. I mentioned them in my postcards - it made me smile to occasionally catch a word vaguely similar to Spanish or French.

When one man got up to go to the counter, the other looked at me and asked if I was going to send him a postcard. I smiled and said that, if he liked, I would send him one from New York. He laughed and we started chatting. I capped my pen. He asked if he could buy me an espresso. I hesitated, then said yes. He seemed very sincere and genuine, why not? I moved over to the table with him and his returned companion. He introduced himself as Enzo, "It's actually Valenzio, but my friends call me Enzo, and this is Valentino; Valentino, this is Jessica".

I must have sat there for an hour, listening to them as the mused on their lives here in America, the places they had lived since moving from Italy, the making and drinking of grappa (they informed me that distillation can be hazardous to your health if you don't know to discard the first and third distillate, but it keeps you warm in the cold northern winters - just take a bottle and you don't even need your jacket!), herbal digestifs that differed from region to region with one very bitter one that he was upset he couldn't remember the name of, the fact that they used to drink 7 espresso's daily (they seemed shocked that I had mine without sugar, I enjoyed the bitter taste now) but Enzo only has 3 or else he is still awake at 3 am, Valentino is down to one, they both go from cafe to cafe around town to see their friends every day.

I mentioned applying to a school in San Francisco - Valentino used to live there before he moved to LA, Enzo waxed poetic about a dinner he was invited to with his late wife to the home of Robert Mondavi (yes, that one) with an incredible meal prepared by two chefs for 4 couples, with their own female somalier who suggested wines with each course. He made this hand gesture - hands side by side, fingers bunched together facing up - to show how amazing it was, such a full experience you could hold it. The two of them insisted on sending me off with pastries, they refused to hear of me paying or buying them coffee in return. Enzo gave me his address, said that he sometimes visited Sedona with his late wife and would love to return because he thinks it's so beautiful. He kissed my hand goodbye and wished me a safe trip, and I left in a joyful state of disbelief that such things still happen in this day and age - a chance encounter on a roadtrip leading to spending over an hour happily sharing stories with a stranger.

New York City. "Center of the universe" and a traffic nightmare! I made it to the parking garage in Brooklyn and found that my earlier phone call to the central office had, of course, been mistaken - my coupon was only good for one 24 hour period, I needed to come back and "move" the car daily with a new coupon or pay monthly. But I think I must have still been carrying some of Enzo's good luck spirit, because I quickly made friends with Michael, the boss in the garage, who said that if I came back on his next shift I could pay for the day, then he would re-issue me another parking spot as if I had left and come back, saving me the hassle of driving around the block and coming back every day.

From there I went ahead and walked the 20 minutes to Emily's apartment. I felt like I stuck out a bit, walking along carrying very stuffed duffel and shoulder bags, but my small smile at people that I passed resulted in several people smiling back and even wishing me a good night, which I happily returned. It was so nice to see Emily! We were in Peace Corps together, she was another awesome health volunteer in my training group, and as such we knew that the top priority was immediately to find food ;) We grabbed some tasty Chinese take out down the street and spent a few hours catching up - she's working at the AIDS Service Center as a case manager, and clearly cares so much about the work she's doing to help people access services and stay healthy - going with clients to appointments or court dates, finding them resources for housing and food - it was so inspiring to hear all the things she's been up to over the past 5 months!